


The Hummel Quest Tales: Tate

by artytales (artyrambles)



Category: Hummel Quest, World of Tanks
Genre: Explicit Language, Gen, alternative universe, sentient tanks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-04-09 19:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4361210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artyrambles/pseuds/artytales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the world's largest conflict has drawn to an end, a Ferdinand tries to build a new life for himself, but the world won't stop throwing hardships into his way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nuclear Memories

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Hummel Quest Origins](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/129275) by HerrWeidner. 



> This story was originally written by [HerrWeidner](http://kampfgruppevonweidner.tumblr.com/). After he dropped it, I decided with his permission to take and continue it. For the purpose of it being complete, I am uploading his chapters here too. I took over at chapter 10.

“ _How long must we stay in this pillbox?_ ” I ask myself as I roll my treads back and forth in a stretch. My barrel swings to the left and then to the right to check on the bunkers under my care. “Achtung Kampfgruppe Weidner, status update.” I broadcast over my channel to the four bunkers in my sights. One by one they each signal back the all clear. “Get some sleep men.” I said the term men loosely; most of them had barely graduated snipers school. Desperate times had called for desperate measures however; the defense needed every able tanker to protect our homeland.

Under my supervision were a Jagdpanzer IV, two Stugs, who happened to be brothers, and a Hetzer. My gaze drifted towards the Hetzer’s bunker. “ _A tank that young shouldn’t have to be out in this._ ” I thought sadly. None of them should have. The only one I could rely on was the Jagdpanzer, he at least seemed to have a cool head. The Stugs were young and thought themselves invincible to the allies; their guns could knock them out with a single shot.  The Hetzer though, my chassis drooped slightly in sadness, he knew he couldn’t do anything. I could hear the fear in his voice at every report.

The allied juggernaut was approaching and there was nothing we could do. Once again I found myself thinking of happier times. Only four years past we were young and we were invincible, nothing could stop us. Nation after nation fell under our firepower and speed. Soon after our victories in the west our eyes turned east to the fertile open plains, it was there that we were destined to meet our downfall. The nation was shocked when a superior tanker appeared; my story, along with many others, began then. We were made to combat this new threat, and we succeeded. Our greed had been too great however, our forces were too thin and poorly prepared, the retreat began. Our superior firepower began to become overwhelmed by sheer numbers; to make matters worse their tankers were beginning to match our quality.

The allies were closing their vice around our last fortress; the Americans, British, and French in the east with the Soviets in the west. “I hope this wunderwaffe will end the war…” I mumble to myself quietly. No one was sure what this new weapon was, as far as we knew it was only a rumor. I was finding it quite hard to believe; a single weapon that could wipe out an entire army. A scoff of disgust escaped me; the only thing that I could trust on was my ammo. “At least it never disappoints me.”

Not a moment after my comment the radio waves began to buzz with excitement. I couldn’t believe what I heard, the American T57 himself was approaching! Quickly I aimed my sights at the slowly growing dot in the horizon. My doubt soon evaporated; there he was under a white flag, excitement began to grow in my engine. Here was our chance! The general of the entire western theater was exposing himself! My excitement was gradually being replaced with uneasiness in my fuel tanks. _“What is he doing? Something doesn’t feel right about this.”_

“Members of the German line!” His loudspeaker suddenly barked into life. “Surrender yourselves peacefully or be destroyed! There is nowhere left to retreat to, this is the end!” We were getting reports that the Soviet IS7 was announcing the same speech on our eastern front. Orders from high command were being passed down: «Load APCR and HEAT rounds. Hold until ordered.»  It felt good to have a round in my breach again. “-ink of your families! Spare them from this unnecessary suffering.” The T57’s loudspeakers continued. “This mindless violence doesn’t have to continue! You have been beaten. Admit defea-” His sentence was cut short, our own Jagdpanzer E-100 ended his life.

A cheer rang through the airwaves. “Achtung Kampfgruppe: Fire at will.” I gave the command to my men. Tankers soon began to stream onto the plains towards our positions, spreading across the entire horizon.  “And so it begins.” I say while adjusting my aim towards a T29. The shot damaged his turret and I could see him lurch to a stop, his ammo had been hit. Suddenly the allied line began to retreat. Rather than cheer I began to look for their reason, we had not launched a counter attack. Something caught my sights, a single flying object coming right for us. My gears grinded in sudden nervousness, whatever that was it couldn’t be good.

 A tremendous roar engulfed the air; I could hear the cries of my Hetzer through the radio. Soon a similar white streak arched over our lines towards the allies. That couldn’t have been a V-2 rocket, this was something much larger! Before I could focus on the lone rocket a second appeared. Word from high command confirmed all four rockets had been launched, two for each theater. Suddenly the world began to fall and I jumped from surprise. My bunker was lowering into the ground? What for? Darkness engulfed me, the radio was silent, all that could be heard was the dull roar from the rockets. The relative calmness exploded and I blacked out on impact.

“I couldn’t tell you how long I was unconscious.” I tell the silent E-25 and Jagdpanther. For once they didn’t make a sound. “But when I did wake up… I woke up to this world.” My barrel lowered in silent memory.

“You really were there?” The Jagdpanther asked in awe. “You were there when the bombs exploded?”  He shared an uneasy glance with the E-25.

“Yes I was.” My gaze fell upon them. “Let us pray it never happens again.”


	2. Out of the Darkness

“So… What was the next thing you remember?” Siren asked. His voice sounded timid which surprised me; I had never heard him so down to earth before. My engine revved as I cleared my vents before continuing.

A blinding light woke me from my slumber. “It couldn’t possibly be another bomb could it?” I thought as I squinted against the bright rays. Much to my relief it was only the setting sun. “Wait…” I began to reverse and soon my treads felt the soft earth beneath them. “I’m outside… My men!” I didn’t even stop to think how I was outside, duty came first. As I rushed down the hill I saw that all but one bunker had lifted.

“Herr Weidner!” Came the shrill voice of the Hetzer. “You’re alive! I’m so glad!” As the distance closed I saw the Hetzer, Jagdpanzer IV and Stug circling the still submerged bunker. “You have to help us! He’s still not out!” The Hetzer motioned frantically at the ground. “He’s still alive too, we can hear him tapping!” The Hetzer’s frame was practically about to shake apart.

“Calm down men.” I said as coolly as I could, my mind resuming its responsibility of Generalfeldmarschall. “Are there any reports of the enemy?” I asked with a wary glance down our defenses.

“Who the hell cares about the enemy!? My brother’s in there!” The Stug shouted in anger. “What are we going to do!?”

I kept my demeanor as a plan quickly formed in my mind. “I know this is difficult son but you need to calm down.” My barrel lowered itself down the hill warily and I continued. “You’re the fastest of us, go to headquarters and report the bunker number. We’ll get him out I promise.” Not a moment had passed before he was already gone. I waited till I couldn’t hear the sound of his tracks before turning to the other two, their figures were grim. I looked to the Jagdpanzer first. “You and I are going to recon for enemy movement.” He lowered and raised his barrel in a salute. “And you-“ I turned to the Hetzer. “Stay here and keep an eye on him.” I glanced down to the bunker.

I lead the way slowly unsure of what would await us at the bottom of the hill. I noticed I wasn’t the last one to emerge from the bunkers, though I certainly wasn’t the first. Scattered throughout strategic points were groups of various assortments of tanks, most lacking leadership. I quickly gathered them together into a makeshift kampfgruppe. As we approached the bottom of the hill the ground beneath our treads turned into dry dust. I looked down in curiosity; now that I thought about it the grass seemed to be dry and dead on our descent down. What kind of power did these bombs have?

My question was answered as the trees suddenly disappeared, their branches ripped away from the trunks. A collective gasp ran throughout the group and nervous murmurs were exchanged. There was the remains of the allied army, scattered as far as my binoculars could see. The tanks were all still and silent, their forms distorted into unrecognizable hunks of metal. An entire wars worth of fighting couldn’t prepare us for what happened next. I gave the order to examine the army for any survivors, though we doubted we would find them.

My fears were confirmed when I heard a hull groan. There was no distinguishing what it was. It looked as if it were once a T29, but it could have been a T34 for all I knew. I drove closer cautiously for a better look, to this day I wish I hadn’t. His barrel had buried itself deep into the soft ground and was holding him suspended on one pair of tracks. The turret had melted into his hull from the intense heat. Each link had formed into the other; his tracks were one solid piece. I could hear a desperate struggle for breath. I circled to his engine compartment; the vents had sagged down into the engine itself. I lifted my sights to the front of him; I could have sworn I heard something. My drive shaft shuddered from sudden fear, he was still alive. Quickly I drove to the front of him to hear his quiet voice.

At first I couldn’t believe what I heard. He was asking… No, he was pleading me to kill him. I backed away in horror; he wasn’t asking for help, he was asking for death. “-are you there? Did you hear me? They’re still alive!” I hadn’t even noticed my radio till now. The tank in front of me continued to beg. Averting my sights I put him out of his misery. “This is Weidner to all tanks… Put them down.” I broadcasted.

“For the next two days we continued the grisly process.” Fang and Siren had gone deathly silent. “Similar results were reported on the western front.” My engine stalled in a sigh. “I got what I wanted… The wunderwaffe did end the war.”


	3. Into the new World

“Did he make it?” The Jagdpanther’s voice stirred me from my silent thoughts. I gave him with a questioning look. “The Stug trapped in the bunker… Did he make it?” The duo gave me a fearful look. That picked my mood back up and my engines sputtered in a chuckle. “Yes, yes he did.” The two let out a relieved sigh. “Many others did not though…” My thoughts returned to that time.

Our headquarters had received the brunt force of the bombs, little to nothing remained. My treads crunched noisily over the ruined ground as I looked for any sign of life. I found the center of the explosion, right in the heart of our operations. I immediately commanded the bergpanzers to begin cleaning any bunker that had been covered by rubble. I observed in silence and offered my help when and where I could. We found the remains of our commanders in the ruins, the tankers responsible for this suffering.

As our cleaning neared one of the larger bunkers our team began to hear desperate high pitched cries for help. It dawned on me in a sudden horror. “It’s the children! Redouble your efforts men!” Without a second thought I recalled every abled tanker to come assist. Nearly a week had passed and none of us had even had given them a thought! Word spread like wild fire and soon every tank was there to free our youth. An hour later the door appeared and was opened; inside was the terrified huddled masses of our young tiers. With a collective sob they rushed out into the open overjoyed to be out of the dark bunker. Their sobbing only grew as the outside world presented itself to the huddled mass.

Each young tank was taken to our fuel depot immediately and nursed back to health. Luckily the parents had survived the massacre as well, though not without injury. It would be sometime before the children and their parents could be reunited. They were lucky in that regard. The day we finished our haunting task of putting the suffering tanks to rest, I and my equals ordered a platoon of our fastest recon tanks to each nation’s homeland and give them our unconditional surrender. We all knew there was no point in further resistance. Only a few days had passed and much to our surprise they returned, their posture shaken.

The battlefield wasn’t the only place to be bombed. In our desperation we had launched multiple rockets into the heart of each nation’s homeland, none escaped the violence. We were the only nation to prepare for such an event, the others doubted our capabilities. Where we survived the others were slaughtered. Only small groups of survivors were left, they were all that survived. The world we knew was gone, murdered by the power of the bombs.

As the recon units gave their reports to the survivors, the deepest fear possible descended upon all of us. Many of the light recon tankers had been ambushed by surviving heavies and killed, their supplies raided afterwards. The world had changed for the worse we were beginning to realize. The fuel refining stations had been targets for each nation; we would have to begin again from scratch if there was to be fuel again. Once again we were fortunate; the higher ups had anticipated an attack and built an emergency refinery beneath the surface.  

 The facility would do for now, producing enough fuel for our survivors with some left over. I found myself quickly unofficially rising through the ranks, being one of only a dozen higher tiered tanks. We were quick to organize an effective defense and early warning system. If word of our operation reached one of these aggressive packs of survivors our fragile way of life could be ripped apart; two of us heavies patrolled the perimeter at all times, four during the night hours.

“For forty years we lived a relatively normal life. Few tankers ever approached us; we looked too much like another ruined city. Those who did though we welcomed in to our home, our past hatred forgotten.”  My barrel slowly drooped downwards. “It wasn’t to last however… Violence would rupture our peace once again.”


	4. Downfall

 My sights adjusted towards my brothers and my mood lightened somewhat; at least I still had them in my life. The two noticed me staring and returned the favor. For a short while we appreciated one another’s presence in silence. “So how did you end up here? What happened to your home?” Fang asked with a somber voice. Was my story finally connecting with him? I could only hope that I would be able to make a positive change in his demeanor. I allowed my chassis to relax heavily on my suspension as I prepared to tell the final to my story.

            The generation we had freed from the bunker so long ago had built families of their own. Times were happy and carefree; the outside world didn’t seem to exist anymore. Attention to the boarder began to diminish as more young tiers were built. The only ones who seemed to care were us veterans; we knew what the outside held. The young ones quickly bestowed the nickname of ‘Paranoid Old Timers’ upon us. We knew better though, we kept the vigil and trained the upcoming generation. It would prove to be futile though; our way of life had been too soft.

            My Hetzer had risen through the ranks to Jagdpanzer during those long forty years. Tiering up had become increasingly difficult with a significant lack of proper targets to train with. My men never failed to make me proud. In the face impossible odds we progressed as a coherent unit. I never had a more proud day than when they were assigned their own night watch; though there were plenty of nights I kept an eye on them. Our system worked, none came in or out without our knowing. There were things we deemed too unlikely to happen, we were sorely mistaken.

            The sun was just beginning to rise and our watches were switching when the faint sound of an engine could be heard. Our sentries reported that a lone light tank was rapidly cutting across the horizon. A familiar red light began to slowly flash in my radio, something felt out of place. The ones that did find us were cautious and wary. Driving to the edge of our innermost defenses I searched for the lone light tank. My binoculars caught the sight of dust; he was driving so fast to bring up a trail of dust. The light began to burn brighter in my radio. I began to broadcast when a voice crackled in my intercom. “This is Wolfgang-“ It was our Royal Tiger. “-to the defenses. Keep an eye on that light tank. We don’t know what he-“

            The light of an explosion flashed in front of us, the hull of a Panzer III began to burn violently. The younger Luchs began to retreat hastily. “He’s dead! I couldn’t see where the-“ His small frame exploded as a second shot ripped through the morning air. Before we could react the hill began to swarm with medium tanks. My shell ripped the turret off an all too familiar T-34 only to be replaced by… One of our own? I held my fire and examined the tank in my sights. There was no doubt, it was a VK 30.01, the all too familiar Porsche turret staring me down. There had to be a mistake of some kind, he had been swept up in the confusion. His barrel flashed and his shell found its mark. The shot bounced harmlessly off my thick mantle, though not without waking me from my stupor.

            My binoculars swept over my flanks, our whole defense was here much to my relief. The relief was short lived however; I quickly saw that there was no hope. The invaders mediums had blitzed past our defenses and were slaughtering the outer lines from behind. “ _Using our own tactics.”_  I realized in horror. I began to send shells down range, years of combat quickly rushed back to me and each shot found their mark; though not all were kill shots. It wasn’t long before we began to receive fire of our own. The lower tiers panicked and began to back away. “If you’re going to retreat be useful and evacuate the city! There’s nothing we can do!” I shouted to them, the enemy’s heavies came into view at the base of the hill.

            I could faintly hear the tracks disappear into the city over the firefight. Our defenses had claimed many of their mediums; the smoke from their burning wrecks offered some shade from the rising sun’s rays. A familiar terror crept into my hull as their battle formation revealed itself before my binoculars. A line of IS heavy tanks lead the way up the hill, supported by Black Princes. Head on our shells would most likely be deflected away harmlessly. I didn’t have the time to examine our own forces before their cannons flashed brightly.

            With the courage of an age gone by, we veterans began our barrage. My fears were confirmed as their curved armor sent our shells ricocheting away. I cursed the lack of artillery support, it was sorely needed.  Had we had it… Things might have turned out differently. Our downfall began when our Royal Tiger’s barrel was destroyed, a valuable asset put out of battle. With the courage of our nation he charged their lines, he was destroyed before he could be of use. Our numbers soon began to quickly dwindle. My engine felt like it was on fire, my ammo was running out, and the enemy was becoming more confident with themselves; the heavies opened their lines to allow tank destroyer fire between them.

            “A round exploded above us…” My barrel pointed straight ahead expressionless, Siren and Fangs were lowered in intense concentration. “The building collapsed on us… Their mediums crested the hill. I retreated and did not stop.” My barrel twitched. “That was the end of civilization.” My barrel pointed to Siren and then to Fang, his prominent dent the center of my attention. “Now you know my story.”


	5. Devastating Beginnings

The building had collapsed, the Hetzer turned Jagdpanzer was trapped beneath the rubble. The line had broken, we had lost. Firing one last shell I retreated to my Hetzer. Straining my engine to its limit I pushed his unconscious frame from the rubble into the city center. Tankers young and old were in a panic unsure of what to do. I shouted for them to abandon their homes and to find refuge in the forest. I was fortunate to find a bergpanzer during the chaos. Quickly we cabled the unconscious Jagdpanzer to my hauling rings. With a promise to one day return the favor I drove away.   
  
My fuel tank was nearly empty when I finally stopped, the dust from our city could be faintly seen in the horizon. I freed the cables from myself in exhaustion and passed out once again. When I awoke the Jagdpanzer was moaning. I hushed him and drove to his side, he was alive. “Quiet now little one.” I said as soothingly as I could, my binoculars examining his hull. The building had dented in his fighting compartment. “I’m here.” I rolled up to his flank. “I won’t abandon you.” My barrel looked to the settling dust of our home. “I’m here for you Rüdiger.”


	6. The Gauntlet - Part One

We couldn’t stay here, not so close and not so soon after the attack. After taking a brief inventory of our supplies I drove around to the cables once again. After much difficulty we were on our way once again. Fang was drifting in and out of consciousness; an occasional whimper could be heard over the deafening silence. I tried to tell myself that everyone was okay, that they had retreated into the safety of the woods, but I couldn’t shake this feeling of uneasiness.

I didn’t have time to worry over things out of my control my fuel tanks soon reminded me. My focus shifted to finding a source of fuel, my mind thought back to the war. If I wasn’t mistaken there would have been an outpost to our west. (“But more importantly, where am I?”) I asked myself and looked to the sky; the sun was marking the noon hour. I found it hard to believe that only a day ago our lives had changed. I pushed the still fresh memory out of my thoughts once again. My binoculars scanned the area for any landmarks. To my amazement I found what I was looking for. Long forgotten telephone poles stood as silent reminders of the old world; I couldn’t be sure but the wires seemed to droop even lower than usual.

To disguise our communications from the allies our engineers had done their best to conceal the poles into existing trees, I knew what to look for however. There was a small problem though, my barrel drooped in annoyance. There was over a thousand meters of open plain till the woods started again and I was on the wrong side. Many tanks had died trying to brave the open plains, and that wasn’t with tank in tow. I would have to wait. With an agitated rev of my engine I moved us to a relatively concealed group of trees. I set my engine to a low idle, the waiting began.

Now came the difficult question, the sun glared off my lenses as I looked across the exposed nothingness. Do I go now and use the sun to my advantage? On the other hand I would be blind to any trap I might be driving into. I ground my treads into the dirt indecisively. With a roar of my engines I drove off into the setting sun. Immediately I knew that this was the wrong choice. There was no turning back though, I was already exposed. All I could do was pray I could pick up speed and end this gauntlet, Fangs extra weight wasn’t helping.

Before I knew it the tree line was approaching, though not quickly enough. With a final feed of fuel I brought us into the safety of the trees. My engine sputtered as the pistons fought for oxygen. I had survived the plains. My vents let out a hot gust of air in relief and my chassis drooped heavily on the suspension. “Move and you’re dead!” A sudden voice pierced the night. “I mean it! If you even look our way I’ll end you!” My barrel slowly rose in surrender; my binoculars were taking in one last look of this world. The sound of treads approached from my side.


	7. The Gauntlet - Part Two

“Don’t do anything stupid and m-maybe we’ll let you live.” The voice continued. Was it just me or did it sound a little high-pitched and fearful? Something didn’t feel right about this. I began to turn to face the voice. “Don’t you dare!” It yelled, this time the fear clear. A shot bounced off my hull with a small ping, I hardly even felt it. My fear evaporated and I turned faster to face this foolish tank. 

I turned to face a young Panzer III A. Her barrel was shaking so badly I was afraid it would fall from her turret. With an amused rev of my engines I greeted her. “Hello young one.” I noticed behind her was a clutter of younger tiers, all German. 

“He-Hello…” She responded timidly, her barrel bravely held to me. “Don’t you dare touch them!” She snapped when I turned my attention to the small group, which shrunk back at my presence.

“I’m not going to hurt any of you.” I said with a chuckle. “How could I hurt my own family?” Her shaking stopped suddenly and her barrel rose in curiosity, the others crept forward once again.

“Weidner!” She cried in realization. “I’m so happy to see you!” She quickly closed the distance between us and bumped into me out of relief. The rest of the younger tiers slowly crept forward still unsure of what was going on. “You can trust him kinder, he’s one of us.” She said soothingly turning her turret to them. Soon I was surrounded by the refuges of our city. “My name is Emma.” The III A managed to shout above the happy ruckus. “I’m sorry for shooting you…” She pointed her barrel to the ground in embarrassment. With a chuckle I shook my barrel and replied that it was fine. “Who wouldn’t want to protect the young ones?” I asked her with pride. Emma would make a fine mother to these lost children. 

After a short while Emma and I were able to calm the young ones down once again, their moods were much better after their scare. Emma asked them to make a line and they happily fell in, she began counting and naming them off, all were accounted for. It was then that I told her about the outpost I was traveling to and extended her an invitation. She gratefully accepted. Taking my place at the head of the train of tanks I began leading the way. A short time had passed before I heard a faint noise. It wasn’t long before the noise grew into a small song. I zoomed my binoculars to the line behind me and saw a Leichttraktor merrily rocking to and fro to the song he was singing. Other voices joined him in his simple melody; it wasn’t long till I found myself singing the bass line. Our convoy of tanks sang as night descended upon us. 


	8. Heading Home

The song began fading the further into the night we traveled until it faded entirely. My engine felt as if it were on fire once again, Rüdiger’s weight was beginning to pull me down. “Weidner?” Emma’s quiet voice surprised me from my mindless driving. “The little ones are starting to sleep…” Her turret was looking back at the lagging line. “I think we should stop for the night.” She half stated and half questioned. With a grunt I answered yes, my treads slowing to a stop. Emma could tell I was exhausted and whispered. “Get some sleep, I’ll take care of them.” With a hum I acknowledged her and immediately fell into unconsciousness.

 “Weidner?..” I felt my chassis being nudged gently. “Weidner?” More nudging. “Weidner? Please wake up…” No nudge this time. “Weidner!” A cannon shot tore through the air. “Wake up!” Emma screamed. With a shake I woke to see Emma’s quivering hull, her cannon looked as if it were about to fall out of her turret once again. “You’re alive!” She smacked into me at full speed. “We were afraid you died…” Her barrel drooped down and pressed herself closer to me. My vents brought in a rush of fresh air as my engine revved up. I rocked my tracks back and forth in a stretch and brought my barrel down onto the top of her hull in a pat.

“There there.” I comforted her, sleep heavy in my voice. “I was only asleep little ones.” The little Leichttracktors had made a half circle around me all of them silent. “I promise I’m fine.” I say in a little louder voice. “Why are you all so worried?” I ask tilting my barrel in curiosity.

“You’ve been asleep for two day Herr Weidner.” A small voice called out from the half circle. Emma pressed closer to me her small frame shaking, though not as badly as before. I don’t know what compelled me to but I gently nudged her back. She jumped back in surprise and turned her turret away.

“Are we ready to keep moving then?” I asked the group, turning my attention away from the embarrassed PzIIIA. A chorus of ‘yes sir’s rose from the half circle followed shortly by questions of ‘how much further’? My binoculars rose to the sky and then back down. “We should be there before nightfall if memory serves me right.”

“A-Alright kinder.” Emma spoke up breaking her silence. “Let’s line back up, the way we had.” She turned her attention back to the group of young tankers. “We don’t want to keep Herr Weidner waiting do we?” Her turret started to turn to me but then snapped back to the forming line. I inched forward slowly until I felt the tow cables tense under Rüdigers’ weight. I called out to Emma as I took my place at the front of the line. “Are we ready to go then?” Her cannon rose in a salute and she shouted out that all were accounted for. I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm; I would have to fix that shortly. When the children had calmed themselves and were following me in an orderly fashion I called Emma to join me.

“Yes Herr Weidner?” Emma asked in a small meek voice, her barrel pointed downwards. “Is there something wrong? Are you angry with me?” The poor girl sounded like she wanted to die. “I’m sorry I shot to wake you up…” She ended with an apology.

I couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Call me Tate; Herr Weidner is too formal for my friends.” I swerved and bumped into her in a friendly hello. Her turret swung away from me quickly and her engine sputtered. “And also, we’re nearly there.” I gestured over an approaching hill. “Cross this hill and we’ll be in sight.”  Her turret turned towards the hill and a sigh of air puffed through her vents. “Now could you be a dear and go scout it out?”

“Yes Herr We- I mean… Yes Tate.” Her turret swung towards me and her cannon rose. “I’ll do my best!” Her engine revved and started up the hill.

“Just don’t take any risks!” I shouted after her.

“I won’t! I promise!” She answered gleefully and pressed onwards. 


	9. A Safe Haven

I only had to wait a short while before Emma reported in to me. «You’re sure it was over this hill? I can’t see anything…» My engine strained as I started up the base of the hill. “Then you’ve found it.” I broadcasted back to her. “Look for the wire we’ve been following, it should lead you towards the utility area. Wait for us there.” My binoculars looked over the Leichttracktor train behind me; they seemed to be keeping up. Regardless I slowed my pace; there was no need to strain myself on the final trek to safety. “We’ll be there in about an hour. If you wanted to look for the entrance I suppose you could. Just make sure to be at the utility area when we get there.”

«I’ll be there Weid-Tate.» Emma corrected herself quickly, my engine revved in a chuckle. The poor girl had been nothing but nervous since I met her. She always seemed to be shaking or stumbling over herself. Of course I couldn’t really blame her, the only life she knew had been shattered. At least I knew the cruelty of war before now. My binoculars scanned across the young tankers sadly. (“And this is the only world they know.”) I thought to myself somberly.

My barrel shook to clear the thoughts away. “Is everyone doing alright? Over this hill and we’ll be there.” Over the sound of their tiny engines the young tankers gave a collective cheer of relief. They all looked as tired as I felt. Get into the safety of the outpost, refuel our near empty fuel tanks and take a much deserved rest; an uninterrupted rest would be nice. My gaze fell down to Rüdiger’s limp chassis. My mood soured once again, repairing him would be my first priority. If memory served right each outpost had a repair and upgrade station, I would have to see what was available.

«I think I’ve found the entrance.» Emma’s voice suddenly came to life over the radio. «I’m just gonna check this ou-» Her voice suddenly screamed out in shock. «Yes! I’ve definitely found it! It’s actually in front of the utility shed if you want to meet here? You’ll see it as you crest the hill.» I waited for the line to clear before responding. “Yes, we’ll meet you there. Good job Emma, we’ll find you a nice bunk when we get there.” The radio crackled to life but to silence. «T-Thank you Tate… I’d like that very much.» Came Emma’s timid response. “We’ll see you in about half an hour.” I hung up the radio only to call back again shortly. “Could you go inside and look for a repair shop? I need to take care of Rüdiger as soon as I can.” «Will do! I’ll see what else is in here too!» Her voice sounded chipper for once. “Just don’t get lost in there.” I warned. «I won’t… I’ll be waiting!» She ended in a sweet voice. I aimed my barrel up the hill happily, at least she didn’t sound so nervous anymore.

True to her word, the outpost came into sight as our train descended the hill. There was the entrance cleverly hidden in the side of the hill over. I was surprised that Emma found it. She could make a good light tank if she wanted. A familiar hull appeared from the depths and began waving her cannon towards us. “No need to follow me anymore, go on to her.” I beckoned the young ones to move on ahead. With a cry of happiness they began to slowly pass me to their new home. “Did you find the bunks?” I shouted to her. Her cannon nodded yes and she shouted back, though I couldn’t hear the details. “Take them to their new rooms; I’m going to find that repair shop!” Her cannon nodded once again and she began herding the young ones into the bunker. We would be safe here; the allies had never found it after we retreated so many years ago.

The entrance was clear of anyone when I finally arrived. With a grunt I pulled Rüdiger up onto proper pavement. Much to my surprise I found the lights humming into life, Emma had found the power generator. Being so talented at such a young tier, she was bound for bigger things. I began following the faded signs along the long corridors. I could hear the laughter of our group echoing down towards me, I chuckled when I heard Emma’s stern voice call for order, she did not end the laughter though. Just as I suspected the bunk rooms and repair station was further under the ground than the actual combat stations, I welcomed the gentle slope downwards. The cool concrete was soothing my aching treads. As much as I cared for Rüdiger it would be nice to be rid of these cables.

The repair station had a pair of rolling doors large enough for three Tigers to fit through and opened into a huge multi-repair docking area. Various assortments of cranes and lifts occupied each station for ease of use and speedy repairs. With some difficulty I rolled Rüdiger into position, a huge weight fell off my towing rings and I allowed myself to breath for a second. After catching my breath I went straight to work. Immediately I filled his tank to the top with fresh fuel. My vents let out a gush of cool air as I returned the favor to myself; it felt good to have a full tank once again. “Now-“ I questioned myself looking about the room. “where would I find a repair kit?” Content that we were in no imminent danger I began examining what appeared to be a control panel.

Much to my surprise I found a large list of available options, everything from new hulls down to single track replacements. A new hull is what Rüdiger would need. The control panel was pretty self-explanatory so I was easily able to select the option. A bright red light and violent siren greeted me when I tried to begin the process. Jumping back I peered closer at the list. All of the repairs were missing? (“Why would they all be gone? This was an outpost; they should be stocked for years’ worth of repairs.”) I reasoned with myself. I hit myself with my cannon in realization. All available repairs would have been shipped to the capital, this bunker was abandoned. “In case you hadn’t already noticed.” I said in disgust to myself.

I began browsing for any other options. I raised my barrel in curiosity, there was an upgrade list and right there was the Jagdpanther. Without a second thought I selected the upgrade and hoped for the best. I was expecting an upgrade crate to be delivered to me somehow; instead a mechanical whirring filled the air. I turned towards Rüdiger in a slight panic in time to see his hull being lifted and manipulated by the same cranes and lifts I put him under. Without lifting his barrel Rüdiger accepted what was happening to him. What happened next I could barely believe what my binoculars were seeing, the machine began his upgrade. No manual labor, no bergpanzers swarming him, no tedious long hours, just a machine. After what felt like an eternity a new tank sat before me. A Jagdpanther.


	10. Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you will probably notice, this is where I took over the story. I decided to change the narrator to one I'm more comfortable with, I hope no one minds. :P

With a final mechanical whirr the room fell deafly silent. Tate couldn’t make up his mind if he should believe what his sights saw or not. The upgrade had worked, Rüdiger was a Jadgpanther now. The Ferdinand’s engine revved to life as he drove closer to look at him, his barrel lowered in disappointment. For whatever reason, Rüdiger’s dent was still there, it looked even bigger on his new frame. On top of that, his whole new body seemed to be in a rather pitiful state, despite being new. There was rust in some places, and an inscription on one side read ‘defect’. It must have been a leftover hull, which probably shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. After all this bunker was abandoned, it made sense that they would have taken the good parts with them.

A sudden fear that the new body could be dysfunctional overcame Tate. What if he had just killed him by accident? Anxiously, he called out his name.

“Rüdiger? Are you here?” he resisted the urge to tap him.

Rüdiger’s engine groaned and his limp chassis rose up from his suspension. Tate backed away to give him some room, his cannon rose in anticipation. Rüdiger’s barrel rose weakly and his voice shook.

“W-Where am I? What happened?” His tracks strained in a sudden lurch forward.

“Woah.” Tate backed up with him. “Calm down, Rüdiger, you’re fine.” He was relieved to hear him speak again, his cannon rose in triumph. After all this worrying about losing him, it was a huge relief to see him alive and well-

“Who’s Rüdiger?”

The Jagdpanther looked at him, his expression speaking of deep confusion. “Who are you talking to?”

A quiet terror crept into Tate’s limbs. The other TD wasn’t acting like himself. Something must have gone wrong after all. His confused expression was turning into an intimidated one as he saw the Ferdinand hesitate. He must have felt it too, that something was off.

“You’re…You are Rüdiger.” Tate said eventually, slowly. “Remember?”

Rüdiger frowned at him, but it wasn’t a hostile expression. If anything, he looked lost.

“No…” he said quietly, “I don’t….” He looked around, his frown only increasing in intensity. “I don’t remember…anything!” His gaze fell on Tate again. “Who are you??”

Now he did start sounding hostile, if only because he was obviously confused and scared. Tate backed up slightly more, unable to believe what he was witnessing. Had he lost all of his memories? Was this really possible?

“Please calm down” Tate said, straining to keep his voice calm himself. “Everything’s alright.” He didn’t believe his own words. Nothing was alright. The Jagdpanther started shaking.  
“I asked you a question!” he almost shouted. “Who are you?”  
“It’s me, Tate” the Ferdinand said, “I’m your commander.”  
Rüdiger’s optics narrowed. The name obviously didn’t ring any bells. He dropped his gaze, shaking even more.  
“I don’t…..” he whimpered, “I don’t know you…I don’t know _me_ …”

Tate started feeling incredibly sorry for him. He couldn’t possibly imagine what it must have felt like to wake up and not even know one’s own name.  
“Maybe….maybe it’s just temporary” he tried, my voice sympathetic, but firm. “You were just upgraded, maybe it’s a side effect.”  
Their gazes met, and the Jagdpanther seemed to slump.

Desperately scrambling for something uplifting to say, Tate found that he couldn’t think of anything to make the situation any better. The silence stretched on until they heard the sound of tracks against concrete. Someone was entering the door – Emma. He wished she hadn’t come, because it seemed like a bad moment to him.

“I heard loud noises, is everything-“ she started to say, but interrupted herself when her gaze fell on Rüdiger’s new body. “O-Oh…” she mumbled, understanding now.

Tate could finally think of something to say. Her appearance turned out to be convenient after all.

“Rüdiger, why don’t you go and try your new gun? Emma can show you the way to our shooting range.” he said, and motioned at the Panzer III A. He hoped that maybe distraction would help him calm down. And much to his relief, Rüdiger nodded slowly after a moment of thought.

“I can do that.” Emma said softly. She had no idea what was going on, or why the mood was this subdued, so much was obvious. But she didn’t ask. “I think I saw a sign somewhere in here… Follow me.” The duo drove off into the expansion of tunnels.

Alone now, Tate sagged heavily onto his suspension, a numbing sadness laid heavily on him. “He’s gone.” A tiny voice tried to remind him that he still had Emma and the children, but that wasn’t the same. They weren’t part of his ‘old’ life. “It’s all gone.” He stared blankly at the wall and fell silent.

A while later, he found himself tapping the control panel of the upgrading machine listlessly. He was zapping through the “available” options without really seeing what he was looking at. The thoughts crawled through his mind, thick like syrup and hopelessly sluggish. Would Rüdiger get better? Or was he lost forever? How would he adjust to this? And more importantly, how would Tate? He immediately shook his cannon for thinking in such a selfish way. This wasn’t even about him, and yet he was _making_ it about him.

He forced himself to stop his senseless task. He should probably go look after Rüdiger to make sure he was alright. Who knew, maybe he needed someone to talk to. The Ferdinand turned off the machine and set himself into motion.

As he was on the way, Emma's voice reached him over the radio.  
«Is...something wrong with him?» she asked cautiously.  
He decided not to beat around the bush.  
"He lost his memories. Maybe it was the accident...maybe the upgrade. I don't know." he replied tonelessly.  
«Oh…I’m sorry» she said, «Is there anything I can do for you two?»  
Tate shook his barrel even though she wouldn’t be able to see it. “At the moment, no. Maybe give him some space. I’ll try talking to him.”  
«I left him alone so he could practice» she informed him.  
“Alright, thank you.”

After a short drive, he could already hear the rhythmic roars of the other’s cannon. The reload would be longer than what Rüdiger was used to, but as Tate counted the seconds between the shots he could tell that he had figured out how to reload this cannon a bit faster already. As he drove out into the court, Tate’s optics needed a moment to adjust to the light. It was by no means a bright day, though. Clouds hung up in the sky heavily, turning the sunshine grey.

He looked at the Jagdpanther who was just standing still and shooting the very same target repeatedly. For a while, Tate watched him. Rüdiger too must have found comfort in a repetitive task. There was barely anything left of his target, but he kept shooting the moment he was reloaded.

"At least you remember how to shoot, huh?" Tate tried to break the silence with a joke, but felt bad immediately because it was probably incredibly insensitive. Rüdiger didn’t respond, but gave him a side-glance. Tate cleared his vents.  
“Sorry.” he said quickly.  
There was still no reply. The Ferdinand looked at the target again and tilted his cannon.  
“Is there really nothing at all that you can remember?” he asked after a while.  
Rüdiger paused his shooting to shake his cannon.  
“Nothing” he said quietly.  
Tate gave him a composed nod.  
“Is there anything I could do to help?” he asked the Jagdpanther.  
The other TD lowered his gaze.  
“I’d prefer if you left me alone right now.” he said.  
Tate wanted to ask him if he was sure, but went with another nod.  
“If you need anything-“  
“Thank you.”

Tate left him alone and went back inside. The shooting resumed almost immediately after. As soon as he was inside again, he slumped a little, the bad feeling returning into his body. He wished he could do anything to make this easier for Rüdiger…and for himself. But it was a simple truth; they’d have to cope with it. There was no shortcut or magical cure. Nothing that would somehow bring back the lives both of them had lost.

Strolling aimlessly around the corridors, he was suddenly passed by two Leichttraktors racing past him and laughing. Tate looked after them and tried to remind himself that as long as the little ones were alive and well, not everything was lost. He might have lost his old life, but a new one was right there, waiting for him to embrace it. And maybe Rüdiger would be able to do the same.

It was later that day, almost night, when Rüdiger approached him.  
Hearing a gentle knock on the door, Tate put aside the fuel can he was drinking from and told him to come in. He hadn’t expected the other TD to come to see him in his room.

The Jagdpanther’s mood still seemed subdued, as was to be expected. But this time, he actually wanted to talk. He asked Tate questions about himself and others, about things that happened and how they had ended up here. Tate answered his questions to the best of his ability, facing the other’s thoughtful frowns. Rüdiger was probably trying to memorize everything he was being told, judging by his intent expression. As there were no more questions, Tate tried to give him an encouraging smile. The Jagdpanther hadn’t been able to recognize anything he had told him, and he actually only looked more downcast than before now.

Nevertheless he thanked Tate for telling him these things, then left, heading for his own room that Emma had shown him earlier.


	11. New Life

The days and eventually weeks went by, and Rüdiger still couldn’t remember anything at all. There weren’t even the slightest shreds of memory, no flashbacks, nothing. It was all gone, and the hope that it would all come back at some point was dwindling.

Tate was focusing on training the Leichttraktors; the task was keeping him in a positive and hopeful mood. They were making good progress, and he figured that it would soon be time for upgrades. They seemed ready for them, so much was sure. He still wanted to wait for a little longer, though. There was something holding him back, maybe worry. Worry what would happen if once again his dream collapsed. If they got attacked, little tier ones would be more likely to be spared. But he knew of course that on the other hand, such an attack could be prevented if he raised them to higher tier soldiers.

Being busy like this, there was something that Tate didn’t quite notice – a delicate friendship was starting to form between Emma and Rüdiger. It was mostly Emma who initiated it, but Rüdiger was not rejecting her. Tate only found out that they had started getting attached to each other when he saw them driving down the hallway together, Emma chuckling and Rüdiger smiling. A smile, something that looked unfamiliar on his features. Tate was dumbfounded as they passed him by. How had he not noticed this before? He had to turn around and look after them to make sure he had seen this right.  
‘ _She’s good for him._ ’ he thought after a moment of contemplation. Thinking about it now, he had seemed slightly less gloomy lately. Now Tate knew why. He couldn’t help but feel a small pang at the thought. It seemed like being friends with Emma helped the Jagdpanther more than Tate’s efforts, even though Tate was trying very hard to be there for him.

Realizing what he was thinking, he shook his cannon with a small laugh.  
‘ _Am I getting jealous now?_ ’ he asked himself. Emma was probably just better at talking than he was. The Ferdinand knew that he could be an awkward mess at times, especially when he was trying to talk about feelings. It really was good that Emma was there for Rüdiger.

***

Chatter and laughter surrounded the little crowd as Emma herded them back into their base. Rüdiger was following behind and making sure that none of the Leichttraktors got lost on the way. He had – although only after a lot of convincing – offered himself as a practice target. His armor easily deflected the tiny shells the low tiers sported, and so they had used the opportunity to teach them how to fight a tank destroyer without meeting their untimely death. Now, after the training session, it was time for the tiny ones to get some sleep.

“But remember kids!” Emma said merrily, “Even if you immobilized them, they can still be dangerous!”

By then, they had reached the dormitory and the Panzer III A made sure that everyone was at their spot and that they didn’t fight.  
“Do you know the story of Ivan and the Hetzer?” she asked while putting a blanket on one of the Leichttraktors. Rüdiger awkwardly stood at the doorway and looked on, unsure how to make himself useful but smiling to himself nevertheless.

“Tell us!” one of the light tanks demanded curiously. Another one joined in.   
“Yes, tell us!!”

Emma chuckled and made herself comfortable between the lower tier tanks. All turrets were turned towards her.

“Alright, alright” she said, patting the Leichttraktor that huddled up to her immediately.  
“Ivan was a light tank and he thought himself a fearsome soldier. He was only a tier two, but he had won many battles and liked to boast about it to his comrades.”

One of the Leichttraktors interrupted her.

“Was he a Russian tank?” he asked with a pondering look.  
“Yes, he was” Emma replied with a nod. The Leichttraktor raised his cannon, proud of his wit. Emma continued.

“During fights, he always wanted to be alone so his team mates wouldn’t steal his kills. It was one of those battles when they fought against a team that had some tanks that were a lot stronger than they were. But that did not bother Ivan. He was never afraid, and so he charged into battle recklessly. It didn’t take long, and he ran into one of those stronger tanks, a Hetzer.”

She paused a moment and looked around.

“Do any of you know what tier a Hetzer is?” she asked.  
“A tier six!!” one of the light tanks blurted out, and Emma shook her cannon with a patient smile.  
“Hetzers are tier four tank destroyers” she said. Some of the Leichttraktors nodded sagely.

“He surprised the Hetzer, and since many tank destroyers cannot turn around fast, he was able to circle him and shoot his drive wheel.” She could tell from the anxious looks the little ones gave her that they really hoped that this story would end well for the German tank.

“The Hetzer stopped moving, but as Ivan tried to finish him off, he had to find out that he could not penetrate the tank destroyer’s armor with his cannon. Ivan was not happy, but since he couldn’t do anything about it, he turned around to look for other enemies.”

Rüdiger watched the Leichttraktors share uneasy looks. He couldn’t help but grin. Those kids were a smart bunch; they would do well in the world out there. And Emma was a wonderful teacher and caretaker.

“But as he was about to leave, the Hetzer spoke to him. ‘Don’t leave me here,’ he said, ‘I cannot move and I don’t want to starve to death. My optics have very thin armor, you can shoot me through them.’ Ivan of course didn’t want to miss out on an easy kill and drove to the Hetzer’s front. He made sure to stay away from the tank destroyer’s powerful cannon and loaded a shell.”

There was a collective gasp from the other tanks as all of the Leichttraktors were sure that this was going to be the Hetzer’s anticlimactic end.

“But before he could shoot, the Hetzer suddenly turned around and shot him instead!”

One of the Leichttraktors looked utterly puzzled. “But he said that he can’t move! How could he turn around?” she asked, and from the looks of some of the other light tanks it was obvious that she wasn’t the only one asking herself this.

“A tank with a destroyed sprocket or track can’t drive anymore, but he can still turn if the other side is intact,” Rüdiger explained. The low tiers flinched and gave him startled looks. They had been so mesmerized in the story that they had already forgotten that he was there. It still looked like not all of them understood, and so he snorted and added a broad hint. "The Hetzer lied." he said flatly. "Aaahhh"s and "Ooooh"s could be heard.

Emma giggled and gave the Jagdpanther a beaming smile, which he returned bashfully.

A timid voice shifted her attention back to the children.   
“So did Ivan die?” the Leichttraktor next to her asked.  
Emma nodded solemnly. “Yes, because he was too proud and not careful enough. You must never forget that even a defenseless looking tank can still harm you. Always be alert and never make rash decisions. A battle is not the place for cockiness.”

There were hasty nods. “Yes, Frau Emma!” the Leichttraktors said in unison. The Panzer III A laughed and gave each of them one last pat.   
“Now sleep well, dearies. The last one to be asleep will be chased by Hellcats in their dreams!”

That was a very convincing argument for them to try and sleep as quickly as possible, and Emma carefully made her way to the door, where Rüdiger was already waiting for her.

“You shouldn’t coddle them like this.” he said, but was only half-joking. They started driving down the hallway.  
“I can’t help it.” Emma replied with a small grin.  
Rüdiger shook his cannon with a smile.  
“Tomorrow we’ll start upgrading them.” he then said, more seriously. “They’ll have to grow up very fast from that point on.”  
Emma’s gaze dropped to the floor. She knew of the plan, and she just couldn’t arrange herself with it. She knew that it was important for them to advance higher on the ladder of tiers, but she felt that they weren’t ready. But maybe she was just overprotective. They _were_ doing well in training.

However, there were more things to worry about. The bunker only had very limited parts, and she, Rüdiger, and Tate would have to leave it to go looking for more of the needed parts. She was anxious about the mission. They already had to go outside for fuel, and that was dangerous enough as it was. Now they would be exposed even more. What if something happened to them? There was always the possibility that they got severely injured or killed. And then no one would take care of the low tiers anymore.

“I know” she said quietly.

They arrived at her room and Rüdiger hugged her.  
“It will be fine.” he said, not sounding optimistic, but still trying to be.  
Emma sighed and nodded.  
“Good night” she said.  
“Night.”


	12. Tales from the Bunker

Many of the searches they did for parts were unsuccessful. There were no merchants nearby, which meant that they had to look for dead low tiers, which wasn’t an easy task. Those parts were high in demand, so when someone found them, they usually snatched them.

It took a long time, but eventually each one of the Leichttraktors had been upgraded. They were acting much more mature already – not all of them, but most – and were doing well in training. Each being between tier three and four, Tate and his helpers were trying to keep them at about the same tier so no one would get left behind. As much as he hated it, the Ferdinand always had to keep in mind that any time, someone could attack them and they had to act and plan accordingly. The goal of course was to raise them to tier eight as he was, but that would take time and could mean that they’d have to leave the bunker eventually to help with the fights. For now he wanted them to stay.

On the way to the fuel depot, Tate raised his cannon in greeting as a Luchs drove past him. The little one greeted back with a bright smile and Tate smiled to himself even as they had passed each other already.

Emma and another low tier passed him by as well. Emma greeted the Ferdinand enthusiastically despite the fact that they had seen each other just earlier, but the Marder III by her side only gave him a quick look before he looked at Emma again. Tate didn’t think much of it. Not all of the young tanks were equally polite, and after all he was raising soldiers, not gentlemen. They drove on and finally Tate reached the depot.

It seemed to be a busy day in the bunker, because now he met Rüdiger too. The Jagdpanther was there and obviously for the same reason as he – to refuel. Tate joined him and was about to start some small talk when Rüdiger brought up a very particular subject.  
“There’s…something I need to tell you” he said to the Ferdinand. Tate tilted his cannon, wondering at the strange expression on the other’s features. He also seemed unusually fidgety, nudging his fuel can around incessantly.  
“What is it?” Tate asked. He almost feared some bad news. What Rüdiger said next was utterly surprising.  
“I think…..I think I like Emma.” he said quietly. Blushing, he averted his gaze.  
Tate didn’t know what to do with that information. He knew that they got along well, so why did he need to point it out?  
“I noticed that” the Ferdinand said with a blink. Rüdiger looked at him, seeming shocked for a moment, then having a realization.  
“No, I _like_ like her” he said.  
Tate stared at him. He understood what the other TD meant now, but for some reason it was the last thing he would have expected. And that despite that the evidence was rather obvious. Tate felt like he should have really seen this moment coming.  
“I’m happy for you” he said with a smile. “Do you think she feels the same?” He honestly thought that she did, judging by the way she acted around him.  
Rüdiger nodded thoughtfully.  
“I think so” he said, then started fidgeting again. “But I don’t know how to ask her…”  
“I could-“  
“ _No!_ ”  
Tate couldn’t help but chuckle at the blushing Jagdpanther.  
“I’ll…find a way” Rüdiger mumbled. Tate was curious about that but he chose not to tease the other TD.  
“Good luck.” he said and finished his fuel. Rüdiger nodded at him and finished his own can. Together, they left the room and indulged on some small talk as they made their way through the bunker. Rüdiger was obviously relieved to talk about something else than his crush. But some of that relief probably stemmed from having talked about it at all.

***

A few days later, in the end it was Emma who asked Rüdiger before he could ask her. He came racing to Tate to tell him, still completely befuddled.  
“Did you just run away from her to tell me?” Tate asked, furrowing his optic ridges with a smile.  
Rüdiger looked like he had to think hard about this for a moment, then looked almost aghast.  
“Yes” he said.  
“Wouldn’t you rather spend time with her right now? We can talk later” Tate asked with a shake of his cannon, and a smile still on his features.  
“…yes.” Rüdiger replied and raced off again.  
Tate looked after him and shook his cannon again.  
“Kinder…” he said.

***

“What do you like about him?” the Marder suddenly asked. Emma looked at him and blinked in surprise. He had stopped shooting the targets and was looking at her with a stern look. The two of them were alone, as by the TD’s request. He always wanted to train alone.

Emma wasn’t sure if she should answer the question. It seemed weirdly inappropriate. The young ones usually didn’t take interest in her relationship with Rüdiger, even though they weren’t hiding their affection.  
“…He is kind to me, and strong” she said eventually. She still felt weird answering this question. The other tank’s next statement made her engine splutter.  
“I like you more than he does” the Marder claimed.  
Emma stared at him. What was he trying to imply? She didn’t think that he really knew what he was saying. After all, she had always seen the young ones like her children of sorts…Thinking that one of them could like her like Rüdiger liked her felt impossible to her. She chuckled awkwardly.  
“I feel honoured” she said with emphasized patience, “But I think Rüdiger likes me more.”

The Marder looked at her for a moment with an unfathomable expression, but then dropped his gaze. He turned back to the targets and continued shooting.

Emma decided to forget about the incident.

***

“I just don’t know” Rüdiger said, huddling up closer to the Panzer III by his side. “It’s not me.”  
Emma nodded gently and brushed some imaginary dust off his fighting compartment.  
“I understand.” she said. “Do you have anything in mind? Anything you want us to call you instead?”  
Rüdiger sighed and shook his cannon.  
“I can’t think of anything yet. I’ll have to think more about this.” he said pensively. “I want it to _mean_ something, you know? I want it to feel like _me_.”

Emma nodded again. He had told her about his discomfort before, but only now had he seemingly figured out that it had to do with his name – the name of a total stranger to him that everyone kept using. She could see how he’d feel uncomfortable. She would too in his situation.

“Did you tell Tate already?” she asked after a moment of silence.  
Rüdiger looked at the ground. “I don’t know how to tell him. I have a feeling he won’t take it well.”  
It hadn’t escaped his attention that Tate wasn’t very happy about him losing his memories, and it seemed like he was really clinging to the idea of bringing the old Rüdiger back, even though Rüdiger himself didn’t think that was possible, no matter how much the Ferdinand told him about all the things he used to be.  
“He will have to accept it” Emma said softly, “And I’m sure he will. He likes you.”  
“I really hope so” Rüdiger replied.

***

‘ _He’s strong_ ’ the Marder thought as he browsed through the options the upgrade machine offered. ‘ _If I become strong as well, Emma will like me too._ ’ He looked at the Jagdpanther option, but there were no more parts left for such an upgrade. The Marder ground his gears together and looked at what else he could upgrade himself into. It had to be something that was at least almost as good. He tapped the buttons once more and chose the next best option.

***

The base was full of noise. Three tanks hurried to the upgrade room, arriving almost at the same time. Some of the young ones were curious as well and gathered there too.  
“What’s going on??” Rüdiger asked, and Tate gave him a shrug. They hadn’t told any of the low tiers to upgrade. Maybe the machine had developed a will of its own? As they reached the door, Tate’s gaze fell on the tank that the machine was currently working on. It was a Jagdpanzer IV. The machine finished just then. The tank was just waking up, shaking its cannon to get rid of the dizziness.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Tate asked as he drove up to the newly upgraded TD.  
The Jagdpanzer looked at him for a moment, then spoke.  
“I upgraded” he said plainly. Tate looked at him sternly.  
“I can see that” he said.

Emma rushed forward all of a sudden. She had recognized the voice. It was the Marder.  
“Why did you do that?” she asked with disbelief in her voice. “You’re too young to be a tier six!”  
The Jagdpanzer wobbled on his suspension.  
“I’m not! I’m grown up!” he protested.  
“Who allowed you to do this upgrade?” Tate cross-questioned.  
“No one.” the Jagdpanzer said. He didn’t look guilty, but rather frustrated. Maybe he had expected different reactions.

Tate sighed deeply.  
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now.” he said. Rüdiger knew _something_ he _could_ do, and slapped the Jagdpanzer with his cannon.  
“Don’t do such stupid things!” the Jagdpanther barked.  
“I’m sorry!” the Jagdpanzer said, but he didn’t mean it. Now that he was all grown up and not a low tier anymore, Emma would have to take him seriously, after all, and that was nothing to be sorry about.

***

It was disgusting to watch them. Rüdiger and Emma, that is. They were like the perfect couple, always sweet to each other, never arguing. The Jagdpanzer flinched every time he saw them tap their cannons in a fleeting kiss. He wouldn’t do that. He would kiss Emma properly. His hope that she would respond to his affection had turned out not to become reality; she still hadn’t taken him seriously as he had told her again that he liked her.  
‘ _This bitch_ ’ he thought, deeply hurt. Why didn’t she like him? He was good in training, and nice. But all she had eyes for was that stupid Jagdpanther.

He wasn’t going to give up though. He would keep trying to impress her.

***

“I win!” the low tier shouted, his gaze fixed at the cards in front of him. Emma pushed them together and nodded.  
“Congratulations!” she said, “Do you want to play again?”  
The others made weary noises, with the Jagdpanzer sighing the loudest. The Luchs kept winning the game. Suddenly, Emma received a radio call.  
«Bad news» Rüdiger said. «We may get spotted.»  
Emma didn’t know what to respond, but she tried not to look concerned to prevent the low tiers from worrying. Rüdiger went on, telling her about the situation, and a moment later appeared in the doorway.

He gave the Panzer III a serious look.  
“Tate thinks they won’t find us” he said, “They don’t seem to be searching for other teams from what he saw.” They had found a rather high tier team nearby during their search for fuel, but Tate hadn’t been able to find out what tier exactly, because he had been spotted before he had seen more than two SPGs. Said team could pose a danger to them, but they had to find them first. A good scout would be able to, though.  
“Can we not talk about this in front of them?” Emma asked, pointing at the little ones that were staring at them with nervous looks.  
Rüdiger quickly nodded. “Sorry” he said.

They moved to a different room, escaping the low tiers.  
“Maybe, if we’re lucky, they’ll travel on” Rüdiger said.  
“Or they’ll decide to stay…” Emma added cautiously.  
“We will wait, and if Tate sees them again on his next patrol, we’ll decide what to do about them.” Rüdiger said.

***

This had been going on for too long. The Jagdpanzer was cresting the hills. He was outside the bunker. He wasn’t allowed to, but he didn’t care. No one would notice right away that he was missing, and he would be back soon. There was something he wanted to do.

‘ _If I can’t have her, no one can_ ’ he thought. He felt sorry for the others, but his pain was too great. Emma kept rejecting him. She didn’t want him. And he finally knew what he had to do. He would go to this other team that Rüdiger had mentioned was camping nearby and tell them where they were. The other team would surely welcome the opportunity for a surprise attack. This plan had been growing inside him for quite some time, and now that there was no hope left, he had decided to execute it.


	13. Attack on Ferdinand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I COULDN'T STOP MYSELF FROM USING THIS TITLE. I'M SO SORRY.

There was dead silence - except for the concrete dust trickling down from the ceiling. No one dared to move, and Tate listened intently. He counted the seconds. The tanks around him looked upwards anxiously.

"Don't panic" the Ferdinand whispered, "Everyone stay calm." Some of the gazes turned towards him.

"What was that...?" one of the tanks asked tentatively.

"That- that was artillery, wasn't it?" another one added. The fear in her voice made it tremble. Tate nodded slowly. The silence was ripped apart by another series of explosions above them. Shockwaves shook their hulls and pressed the air out of their vents. The lights flickered. Some of them didn't go back on. Tate could only imagine what forces they were dealing with. That wasn't just regular barrages.

The number of impacts he counted at once was too high for a regular team's battery. And they fired too fast. Way too fast. A choked and cut off scream made the Ferdinand spin around. One of his protégés had jumped back as a chunk of the ceiling had come down on her. She had only barely managed to avoid it.

«Tate!! The ceiling! It's not gonna hold!» he suddenly heard Rüdiger's voice yell at him over the radio. The amount of static made his words almost unintelligible. "It will!" the Ferdinand replied with authority in his voice.

"Stay calm!!" Despite his words, he backed up and hectically scanned the concrete above them for any cracks.

«There's pieces of it-» The Jagdpanther's transmission got cut off by the next barrage. The sound was even more deafening that time. Now Tate saw cracks starting to form. A string of curses reached the Ferdinand's radio, but then got interrupted by another voice.

«They're attacking the gate! There's at least-» The noise of shells hitting metal drowned out his voice.

«-something-...-can see-...high caliber-» A final, much louder boom - resonating both from the radio and through the whole building - announced the gates being blown to pieces. It was immediately followed by the thunder of more artillery shells pounding down on the bunker.

"Retreat to the lower levels!" Tate shouted at the tanks surrounding him as soon as the last explosion had faded, "I'll go and support the gate guards!" Now the debris started raining down. All of his team mates except for one turned to leave immediately. Tate stared at the Jagdpanzer.

"Go!" he ordered, and the tank destroyer obeyed and spun around to follow the others. Tate laboriously got his engines into gear and hurried down the hallway. "Rüdiger, you too!"

 «No! Fuck it, no! That's a tomb!!» the Jagdpanther replied, sounding downright hysterical now. His engine was almost louder than his voice. He must have been on the move as well. The thoughts raced through Tate's mind. He tried to remember the other exits of the underground building complex and where they led to.

"Maybe you can-" he started to say, but as another barrage hit, the ground shook so bad that he swerved and fell silent for a moment. Chunks of concrete so big that they almost knocked him out dropped on top of his fighting compartment, and in between it all Rüdiger and just about everyone else in the base at that point kept yelling into his radio.

Finally the Ferdinand came close enough to the gates to hear the fighting there. The cracks on the ceiling had followed him as if they were trying to race him.

A stray shell ricocheted off the walls and bounced off his armor before hitting the ground. The hallway was getting broader and higher here, and he quickly spotted his team mates. They had taken cover between wrecks and debris and desperately tried to fight back against an unknown number of invaders. They were trying to deal suppressing fire, but the truth was that they were the ones being suppressed. Tate hurried towards them and behind cover as well. A HE shell exploded where he had been just a moment ago and tore a small crater into the floor.

The TD tried to catch a glimpse of their enemies, but had to duck as the turret of one of his tanks next to him exploded into a ball of fire.

"HAH! You seen that??" a voice called out. Tate risked peeking out behind his cover and saw a grey T20 retreat behind a wreck, cannon still smoking. A second T20 was sticking out its turret and its gun was pointing right at him. Before the Ferdinand could do anything about it, a shell hit him just to the left of his gun mantlet, but merely scratched his paint. He fired back and heard a female voice yelp. The T20 scrambled for better cover, shouting "That's a goddamn Ferdinand!" to her American comrade. Said comrade shot at the TD as well, but again the shell bounced off harmlessly.

"What, afraid of a real fight?" the loud T20 asked smugly from behind the safety of the wreck he was hiding behind. Whatever response he got was swallowed by the noise of their team mates sending another barrage.

Tate traversed his cannon around and took aim at the spot where the medium had disappeared, and waited.

"Retreat!" he said to his own team mates. They hesitated, afraid to leave their positions for fear of being shot, but then started reversing cautiously.

Their enemies must have heard him issue the command - as he had hoped - and both of them eagerly peeked out of their cover to pick off the fleeing tanks. Tate shot the grey one, and with great satisfaction saw his shell leave a huge hole in the medium's turret. The T20 hissed and hid again immediately. The other T20 however had had the chance to fire, and her shot tracked one of Tate's team mates that had ended out in the open. The poor soul turned his turret towards the source of the shell that had hit him.

"Lorraine!!" one of the American mediums shouted, and the last thing that Tate's soldier saw was an SPG turning into the open gates and firing. The shell's tracer was blown away as the German tank blew up into a thousand pieces.

"WRONG GUY!!" both Americans shouted in unison. Apparently they had wanted their team mate to take care of the bigger obstacle - the TD.

Tate immediately trained his cannon on the SPG. The impact of a barrage above them brought down a part of the ceiling and shook him, throwing off his aim. As the dust settled, the SPG was already gone. He threw a quick glance behind him to see the last of the young ones reach the hallway, and started backing up as well.

"We gotta go in! Let's circle him!" he heard the grey one call out.

"What! You go first!" his team mate replied. This time the artillery shelling, which had hit the building like clockwork, didn't happen. In the absence of it, Tate could hear the medium tanks switch positions, probably trying to find a good path for flanking him. He was still reversing, and the corridor was near.

A plan had formed in his mind already - or rather, the weak excuse of a plan, but it would have to do.

Two more shells bounced off his casemate, as it was all that was visible behind a big wreck that he had swerved behind. They had come from different directions, but as he tried to spot the sources, he only saw a grey rear disappear behind a piece of debris.

He finally reached the hallway, which efficiently cancelled out the planned flanking. The two T20s raced out from their cover and braked hard as they saw the living obstacle block their way.

Tate had been waiting just for that and sent a shell their way, knocking the second medium unconscious.

"No!" the other one shouted, and then, directed at the Ferdinand, added, "Kraut bastard!!"

Tate paid little attention to it as he had already backed up further to where the corridor got narrower again. He was loading HE.

The grey T20 was now charging him, and a shell only barely missed Tate's track, hitting his glacis instead. It buried itself in the armor, but failed to penetrate.

As the American tank had almost reached him, Tate jerked up his cannon and fired at the ceiling. Between the explosion and the dust of it crashing down, he heard a scream. Hopefully the medium had been caught in the explosion. If they were absolutely hellbent on taking this bunker, it wouldn't take them long to get rid of this rubble, but he had bought his team some time.

Turning around, he hurried back to where he had come from, making sure to look into every room and corridor he came past to be sure that no one was getting left behind. The lower levels of the bunker however were no longer safe and he broke the eerie silence on their common radio channel.

"Attention everyone, we have to abandon this base. Go to the western exit and we'll regroup outside!"

Then, on a private channel, he addressed his protégé.

"Rüdiger? Where are you?"

As there was no response except for a quiet whimper, Tate felt fear bubbling up inside him.

"Are you alright?"

All he heard was a barely audible whining, and something that sounded like the word 'ceiling'.

Tate tried again, but the response was the same. He hissed and contacted the group that was supposed to go with the Jagdpanther.

"Where is Rüdiger?" he barked into the radio, however all he found out was that he had suddenly gone missing.

The Ferdinand started a frantic search. From above, artillery fire had continued pounding down on the bunker.

He tried the place where Rüdiger had been last seen, but to no avail. There were track marks on the dust that now covered the ground however.

Tate hurried to follow them, and eventually between the terrible noise of the explosions, heard the same whining as he had heard over the radio. He tried to get closer despite the fact that more and more of the corridors were blocked off by debris.

Behind the next bend and between rubble, Tate suddenly saw the other tank destroyer.

He was cowering, facing the wall, and shaking bad.

Tate knew a panic attack when he saw it, but he had never been too sure how to act when they happened. He slowed down, trying to look as unintimidating as possible.

"Rüdiger...!" he announced his presence, but all that did was make the addressed Jagdpanther twitch and cry out.

"The ceiling.....the ceiling.....!" Rüdiger whimpered. Other dents had joined the big one on his fighting compartment.

An explosion that sounded much closer than the ones before - together with the deafening noise of another part of the building collapsing - made the ground and the walls shake.

Tate wished that he would have had time to console the other tank destroyer, but he simply didn't. Both of them didn't, if they wanted to get out of here alive.

"Come on Rüdiger, we have to go!" he said urgently and pushed against the other tank, who fiercely hit the brakes.

"No...!! No!!" Rüdiger cried and struggled.

"Rüdiger! We need to leave! And where's Emma? I can't reach her!"

Rüdiger wheezed, "I don't know!!" he cried. "The ceiling....!"

It took terrifyingly long until he was finally able to get the Jagdpanther to move. He was still completely beside himself, but at least he was driving along now.

"Where's Emma?" Tate asked again, but the response was the same. However this time it seemed like Rüdiger actually understood the question. If he had been able to, he would have gone pale.

"I don't know!" he repeated, but this time the pain this gave him was obvious. "We need to find her!"

Most of the corridors and rooms were blocked by now; crushed tanks were trapped under some of the fallen parts of the ceiling. Rüdiger stared straight ahead, trying not to see. As there was suddenly a female voice crying for help, he raced ahead, giving Tate trouble keeping up.

"Emma!!" Rüdiger shouted. There she was, trapped as well under some of the debris. Her suspension was crushed and so was the back of her hull - only her front and turret were sticking out.

"R-Rüdiger...!" she wheezed, her voice thin.

The Jagdpanther uselessly paced around the crumbled concrete, but he knew well that he could barely do anything. He pushed against one of the chunks.

"I'll get you out of here," he said frantically, then turned back over his fender and looked at Tate.

"Help me!" he shouted, "She's trapped!"

The Ferdinand arrived as well, but he knew just as well as Rüdiger did that there was nothing they could do right now. Even if they managed to pull the Panzer III out, what could they do? She looked badly hurt, and neither did they have a TRV on their team, nor was Tate sure if she would even survive long enough until they would be able to find one.

And most importantly-

"You have to leave me behind" Emma cried softly. Rüdiger looked like he was about to lose his mind.

"No, we'll get you-"

"There's no time" Emma replied, "If you stay all three of us will die!"

As if to emphasize her words, where Tate and Rüdiger had come from, the ceiling collapsed completely. Both of them gasped, and the dust obstructed their view, but not their voices.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Rüdiger screamed, but he got a sad laugh in response.  
“I love you” Emma said hoarsely, “But there’s no time. I’m already dead.”

The Jagdpanther desperately grazed her turret cheek and she smiled a brave smile.  
“No,-“ he began. Tate cut him off.  
“We have to go!” the Ferdinand insisted. “She’s right!”  
Another explosion shook them, and this time the ceiling above them and ahead of them started to crumble and rain down.

Emma started crying, and Tate could tell that Rüdiger was too, but he pushed the other TD away.

The way out was probably the longest path Tate had had to go in a while.


	14. Sold

“I think that’s enough” Scarlett said. She looked at what was left of the bunker, and even though her sight was blurred due to the distance, she could clearly see that barely anything but a smoking ruin was left of the building they had been mercilessly attacking for the last ten minutes.

She switched back to her normal sights, grinning smugly. That had been almost too easy. When the little Jagdpanzer had told them that there were a bunch of tier eights in there, she hadn’t known whether to believe him, but it was better to make sure. The last thing she wanted was her team to fall victim to another higher tiered team, and lose their base. And when Striker had reported that there was a Ferdinand as well, the last doubts about the Jagdpanzer IV’s credibility had been gone. Luckily, that was taken care of now.

To the sides of the GW Panther, the other SPGs had stopped firing as well and congratulated each other to a job well done.

“How’s the situation in there?” she asked into her radio. The response was slightly delayed, and distorted.  
«No survivors yet, probably escaped» one of the T-20s reported.  
“Let’s hope that’s not the case.” Scarlett replied with a hum. “How’s Thrira? Did she wake up?”  
«Yeah, I’m fine» the other T-20 responded.  
«Actually wait, I think this one’s still alive» Striker suddenly said. «A Panzer III?»

“That’s not high tier at all” the Crusader SP to Scarlett’s left commented.  
“I’m sure the high tiers just escaped” the GW Panther hissed. There was a rising feeling of a possible grave mistake having been made that started creeping up on her, but she pushed it away.  
“There was a Ferdinand, remember?”  
“I wasn’t trying to accuse you” the Crusader replied flatly.

Scarlett turned to her medium team mates inside the bunker again.  
“Get the Panzer out of there, we’ll decide what to do with it.”

“Actually,” the AMX 13 F3 AM to her right suddenly said, “I can see more tanks.”

***

It was an easy task to round up the survivors, however a problem became apparent. Scarlett’s worry had come true after all.

“What about the low tiers?” the Crusader asked. Scarlett looked at them pensively.  
“We’re letting them go, of course.” she replied eventually and turned to said low tiers. “You’re free to go. Find a new home.”

With some bows and a “Thank you”, the tanks set themselves into motion; some of them more hesitantly than others. Only when the Ferdinand told them to go, the last ones left. Scarlett looked after them for a moment, hoping that they would be fine on their own. Then she turned back to the remaining captives, just in time to see that the Jagdpanzer IV looked like he thought he was allowed to follow them.

“You stay here” she said sternly. She frowned at the TD. He had lied to them and was a traitor to his team, responsible for many deaths. A team killer, by extension. There was only one suitable punishment in her opinion, but the rules said otherwise. “I would love to have you shot.” she said dryly. The Jagdpanzer flinched, ducking. He looked guilty, his gaze fixed to the ground. Scarlett didn’t feel a hint of sympathy for him. “You’ll come with us and we’ll make sure you get branded.”

She looked at Tate and Rüdiger next. Her expression grew slightly less grim. “You’re coming with us too. We’ll find some good use for you.” she said with an almost bored looking smile.

***

What happened next was that the captives followed her and her team back to the makeshift base the Rainmakers had set up. The Jagdpanzer was lead to a tent, and Tate and Rüdiger to the middle of the base where everyone could easily keep an optic on them. All three of them had been stripped of their ammo as well.

Inside the tent, it was unnaturally bright. Normally tents tended to be rather dark, but the Jagdpanzer quickly understood the reason for the thorough illumination – a TRV was working here. His and another tank’s headlights made sure that he could see what he was doing.

As the Jagdpanzer saw what the TRV was working on at the moment, his ventilation almost stalled.  
“Emma!” he cried out, staring at the battered hull in shock.  
What had he done to her?  
The TRV looked up and glared at him.  
“You almost got her killed.” he growled.

The medium that was escorting the Jagdpanzer shoved him.  
“A bit late for regrets now, mate” he said harshly. The tank destroyer barely heard him. He was like paralyzed. She had survived!

Maybe – no. No, no way. It was too late. Even if he hadn’t tried to remotely kill her, and even if he wasn’t about to be exiled, it would have never worked out. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he should let Rüdiger know somehow, but he bitterly decided against it. Maybe the Jagdpanther would find out about it anyway, but as the Jagdpanzer IV got branded with the blue mark of the teamkiller and kicked out of the camp afterwards, he remained quiet about his discovery.

Tate watched him leave. He didn’t understand why the Jagdpanzer had been branded, but was trying to manufacture an explanation in his mind. Had he betrayed them somehow? Was he the reason why the base had been attacked? The Ferdinand didn’t want to believe it, but the artillery team seemed to know something he didn’t, and it looked an awful lot like betrayal.

He now remembered the odd look the Jagdpanzer had given him when he had sent him away during the attack. Back then he had been too busy to think about it, but now when he recalled it, it had seemed almost apologetic.

After several hours had passed by already, he was granted no more time to ponder about it, as someone was approaching them.

The FV304 planted himself right in front of the two TDs. He had to look up to even meet their optics.  
“I’m Kiriak” he said, apparently feeling the need to introduce himself for some reason. Before he could say anything else, Tate spoke up.  
“Why did you attack us?” he asked. The little SPG tilted his cannon with a sheepish grin.  
“Your team mate.” he replied simply.

That verified Tate’s assumptions. He gave a sad sigh. Kiriak went on undeterredly.  
“Some dudes will come and pick you up soon.” he said.  
Tate gave him a firm look, under which the SPG seemed to shrink a little.  
“A new team?” the Ferdinand asked. He had no intention of staying with them if that was the case.  
Kiriak shook his cannon.  
“Nah” he said and then started grinning again. “We’re selling you. There’s an arena that always needs new cannon fodder.”  
“What?!” Rüdiger yelled. “We’re not-…not cattle! You can’t just sell us!” The SPG twitched but then only shrugged.  
“I don’t make the decisions here” he said, the grin gone and replaced by a defensive expression.

Tate frowned; Rüdiger gave the Ferdinand a desperate look, but he didn’t know what to do either. Being integrated in this team or another one, he would have had an escape plan ready. Even getting killed was something he had expected. But not being sold to some arena.

“Is this disputable?” he asked sternly.  
The little SPG shook his cannon. “No.”


	15. The Arena

It seemed like they weren’t the only ones who had been sold. When their escorts arrived to pick them up soon after, there were also other prisoners that were traveling with them. They were chained to the others and remained like that during the whole long way to the arena.

During the march, Tate tried to talk to Rüdiger, to alleviate the bleak mood. But the Jagdpanther was grieving, not responding or answering a single question. Tate understood and eventually stopped trying to talk to him. It would probably take a long while until the other tank would be over losing Emma; possibly forever. He would need to take his mind off it somehow, find a distraction. Fighting would probably be a possible way to do that, in that regard the arena maybe wouldn’t be too bad. But that didn’t mean that Tate had any intention of staying there. He was sure that they would find a way out somehow, if necessary by force. He couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life committing senseless violence.

As he was lost in thought, he didn’t consciously experience most of the travel, only becoming aware of his surroundings again when a massive building rose up before them. It was bigger than any factory hall he had seen before, with either a flat roof or no roof at all – it was hard to tell from his point of view. There were tents and other small buildings surrounding it and tanks could be seen moving between them. Instead of going past those however, the convoy made a sharp turn and followed a small path to the backside of the big building.

There, a gate was opened and they were lead inside. They were still chained together as the convoy made its way underground, where there was muffled noise. Lined up in a room, TRVs appeared from a door and, without saying a word to anyone, painted numbers on each captive tank. Another TRV checked items on a list, apparently making sure that everyone actually arrived.

After this was done, more guards arrived and their chains were removed, then they were lead off. Rüdiger and Tate were lead away together, which Tate couldn’t be more thankful for. It looked like at least they would be locked up together.

The noise got quieter the further they drove, through a corridor that was lined with cells on both sides. The crude bars looked like they were thick enough to withstand a tank trying to break them. Now Tate hadn’t expected any cozy accommodations, but this was worse than he had expected. They would be locked up like criminals. A big letter on the wall read “A”, presumably the section of the dungeon they were in. Some of the cells weren’t empty, but the tanks were hidden by the shadows. Eventually they reached their destination. One of the two guards stayed with them, while the other went further. As he was out of sight, for a moment nothing happened, but then two cell doors sprung open. They were right next to each other. The remaining guard motioned at the two TDs to go inside, and they did. Pushing the doors closed, the guard then left them alone without saying a word about what would happen next.

Tate turned to Rüdiger. Before he could say anything, the Jagdpanther spoke.  
“This isn’t real. It’s just a bad dream….” he said, voice distressed. Tate wished it really was. But as nice as that would have been, to just be able to wake up from this, it seemed unlikely. To the Ferdinand, it all felt very real. Terrible, but real.

Rüdiger didn’t say anything else and turned away, and Tate didn’t know what to tell him. In the silence, he realized that he had lost everything…again. It seemed like fate just didn’t want to leave him be. It seemed like every time he managed to build something up, it was smashed to bits. He dropped his gaze, his engines rumbling with frustration. For a moment he wasn’t sure if it was even worth it to try to break free from this place. After all he had nothing out there – but that wasn’t entirely true. He looked up, his optics falling on Rüdiger. He may not have been the same tank that he used to be, but he was there and he needed him.

The Ferdinand sighed. He wished that this doubt wouldn’t consume him. He wished that he could bring himself to be adamant about leaving, if for Rüdiger’s sake at least. But right now, all he felt was hopelessness. How would he go about escaping anyway? This place looked like that would be a difficult endeavor.

After a while, another TRV, along with two guards, came to see them. As they had done before, one of the guards stayed while the other went to an unknown location to open the cell doors somehow. Only one door was opened this time, however. It was Rüdiger’s. The guard returned.  
The TRV drove forward and inside the cell, one guard by his side.  
“I will now check your modules and equipment.” the TRV said matter-of-factly. He turned to Tate. “You will be next.”

Tate didn’t nod. Rüdiger just stared straight ahead as the TRV began opening the hatches and poking and probing around. The whole procedure only took two minutes, then it was Tate’s turn. It felt just as invasive as it had looked. When he was done, the TRV left the cell and took some notes, then turned towards the TDs again.

“Jagdpanther, your debut match is scheduled for later today. You will be picked up and your ammo will be refilled for the duration of the matches. Good luck.”

***

Rüdiger held his breath. He stared at the trees ahead of him, doing his best to be as motionless as possible – that was his only defense, as his lack of camo gave him no concealment whatsoever. His engine was running on the minimum to reduce the noise. He flinched as all of a sudden, a Sherman drove out from his left and obliviously passed him by. Rüdiger waited for the right moment – until he was dead in front of him, and fired his cannon. The mighty 88 spat instant death. Rüdiger turned around and ran. He had counted; there was one more enemy left and they would surely know his position now.  
‘ _Just one more!_ ’ The thoughts pounded through his mind. Most of his enemies had eliminated each other, he was incredibly lucky in that regard. One of them had been a tier nine. They were a varied bunch in terms of tiers. Rüdiger felt sorry for the tier three that had been among them. He was most likely dead by now….or not.

The Jagdpanther ran right into him as he rushed out of the little grove, out into the open. He caught a short glimpse of the raving crowd, then the grey mass in front of him blocked his field of view. He hit the brakes hard but still crashed into the yelping medium tank. A Panzer S35, a tank that Rüdiger had never seen before. If the announcer hadn’t introduced it, Rüdiger wouldn’t have known what he was fighting. He asked himself how this little tank was supposed to have any chance against the others. A shot tore through the air and bounced off the Jagdpanther’s front armour, just confirming his suspicion.

The little cannon barrel was shaking as the Panzer realized the same thing. Maybe he could have pierced the TD’s side or rear armour, but not the front. And he didn’t dare to try again, especially not as Rüdiger backed up and pointed his cannon at him. The Panzer tried to get to his flank, but Rüdiger just turned. But he didn’t shoot. He couldn’t shoot. He had to think of the low tiers he had sworn to protect. And he couldn’t imagine that this low tier here was fighting him voluntarily.

Rüdiger turned at the crowd.  
“I’m not fighting this guy!” he shouted, having trouble being louder than the voices that demanded the Panzer’s death. “He can’t hurt me!”

The crowd got louder, and the Panzer threw a shocked look at him, but Rüdiger refused to pull the trigger. He wouldn’t kill a low tier.

***

The cell blocks were brimming with noise. Countless voices were shouting, screaming, arguing, but one of them was the loudest.  
“Cancelled?!” Siren screeched, “Impossible! You’re shitting me!” He jumped against the bars as if he was feinting an attack. Metal clanked against metal loudly.  
“Nah, I saw it!” a female voice replied defensively, “I saw it…” The voice belonged to a tank that remotely resembled a T-34, and she didn’t even flinch as the E25 had leaped at her. Nevertheless, she was cowering at the back of her own cell, giving everyone wary glares – especially the one to her other side who was just hitting his turret against the wall all day long.  
“You’re shitting me!” Siren repeated and rammed into the bars again. “Matches never get cancelled!” he shouted.

“Not true!” another voice joined in. An AMX 13 57 was sticking his gun out between the bars from the other side of the corridor. “They do it sometimes!” He and the T-34 were the only ones of this part of the cells that were allowed to be among the crowd during battles every now and then.  
“Liar!!” Siren spat.

A sudden uproar down the corridor made all three of them peek out of their cells curiously in an attempt to see what was going on.  
“Back off, you’re in the way!” Siren said to the T-34 who happened to be closer to the spectacle. She didn’t, and not even his loud continued nagging changed that. Finally the source of the whole riot came into view; three tanks – two guards to either end of a Jagdpanther – were making their way down the corridor, and of course everyone here knew that it was the newcomer they had heard so much about already. Some of them were scoffing at him, calling him a weakling, one was trying to flirt, but a lot were just screaming incomprehensibly.

“Hey!! _Hey!!!_ ” Siren yelled at him as the Jagdpanther and his escort passed him by, “HEY! Is it true?!”  
All he heard from the other TD was a muttered “Animals…”, but other than that he got no answer. The Jagdpanther wasn’t even looking at him. Siren tried another “Hey!” but it was just as ineffective. Before he could get any reaction out of him, he was gone already.

The E25 huffed and rolled back.  
“What a snob” he said, sounding utterly disappointed.

***

Tate was waiting in cell block A. It must have been late evening – not that he could have been sure since they were underground – and he had no idea where his team mate had been all day, but now he was watching the guards returning Rüdiger to his cell.

The Jagdpanther wasn’t looking at him and said nothing. Tate noticed that he seemed suspiciously unharmed, which also explained his long absence – most likely repairs. As he looked closer, he saw weld marks.

“How did it go?” Tate asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.  
“There’s low tiers” Rüdiger said, “You’ll probably have to fight them as well.” His voice was dry.  
Tate stared at him in disbelief. “They…can’t do that!” he protested, but Rüdiger only snorted.  
“They can do everything” he said, “They own us, remember?”

Tate looked at the ground, anger welling up inside him. He fell silent for a moment as he tried to sort through his thoughts, with one thing standing out especially.  
“Did you…kill them?” he asked.  
Rüdiger quickly shook his cannon.  
“I refused.” he said. Tate breathed a sigh of relief. “They had to cancel the match because I wouldn’t do it.” the Jagdpanther continued. Then, more quietly, he added, “I have a feeling this won’t work forever, though.”  
“This place needs to be burned to the ground” Tate spat. “We need to get out of here!”

The Ferdinand looked up as there was a sudden clang and metal dividers started descending from the ceiling like garage doors.

“But how?” Rüdiger asked, looking at the dividers as well as they started separating them.  
“I don’t-“ was all Tate could say before they closed off the cell. “…-know…” he finished quietly.


End file.
